Avalanche Forecast

Moderate - Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain

TUESDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy with isolated flurries, trace to 10 cm accumulation. Alpine temperature near -12C. Ridgetop winds moderate from the east.WEDNESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud. Alpine temperatures near -10C. Ridgetop winds light from the south-southeast.THURSDAY: Sunny with cloudy periods with flurries starting later in the day, up to 10 cm accumulation. Alpine temperature near -8C, freezing level rising to 600 m. Ridgetop winds moderate from the east-southeast.FRIDAY: Cloudy with flurries, trace to 5 cm. Alpine temperatures near -8. Ridgetop winds light from the south-southwest.

Soft slab development in steep, lee terrain and loose, dry snow sloughing is being reported with the recent new snow.Over the weekend, small pockets of wind slab were reactive to skier traffic in steep and immediate lee features. Of note is a MIN from the Whistler backcounty reporting wind slabs at lower elevations and in more sheltered terrain than usual (see the MIN here).

15-30 cm new snow fell on variable wind-pressed, wind-sculpted, exposed crust and windslab surfaces covering alpine and higher treeline elevations as a result of the recent extreme wind event. Additionally, the extreme winds deposited snow lower in start zones than usual and developed wind slabs in more protected areas and at lower elevations.Due to scouring and wind-loading, anywhere from 0-100 cm of new snow and old, wind-affected snow sits on a crust on all aspects below 2000m and solar aspects into the alpine. Above 1800 m, recent cold temperatures have been working to facet and break down the buried crust. In isolated and sheltered terrain at treeline and below, a layer of weak feathery surface hoar or sugary facets may be identified, but with little reactivity. The remainder of the snowpack is generally well-settled.